John Axford

That the fourth World Baseball Classic arrives this week without a whole lot of fanfare on baseball’s homefront is of little surprise.

No Mike Trout?

No Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant or Clayton Kershaw?

No finishes inside the top-three for the United States, either, although this country’s medal drought, a shortage of American stars and a lukewarm reception here to date has done little to tarnish the international tournament’s standing in the commissioner’s office.

“Let me say this as plainly as possible,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said, “I intend to keep the WBC alive and rolling as long as I'm commissioner. The WBC serves two really, really important purposes, I...

Related "John Axford" Articles

That the fourth World Baseball Classic arrives this week without a whole lot of fanfare on baseball’s homefront is of little surprise.
No Mike Trout?
No Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant or Clayton Kershaw?
No finishes inside the top-three for the...

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rougned Odor was ready to hit for the Texas Rangers with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning. He instead ended the game by getting hit.
Odor was hit by a pitch, forcing in the winning run and capping a three-run...

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adrian Beltre got the fastball he wanted.
Beltre's second home run of the game was a two-run shot on the first pitch from Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth inning, and it rallied the Texas Rangers past the Oakland Athletics...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sonny Gray had his good stuff on Wednesday at Target Field, finding ways to wiggle out of jams while pitching six solid innings for the Oakland Athletics.
Even that wasn't enough to stop a personal losing streak that has stretched on...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — With two hits for the Marlins on Wednesday in Miami's 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Ichiro Suzuki raised his career total in the Japanese and North American major leagues to 4,257, passing Pete Rose's record Major...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Danny Valencia opened May on the disabled list. He closed it as one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
Valencia homered and drove in three runs, Stephen Vogt had three hits and drove in two and the Oakland Athletics won their...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays were one out away from a victory Sunday.
Unfortunately for Steve Geltz, Danny Valencia was up for the Oakland Athletics with a man on base.
Valencia hit Geltz's first pitch for his third homer of the day,...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Matt Andriese won for the second time in two starts this week and earned the chance to remain in the Tampa Bay Rays' rotation.
The right-hander pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout, leading the Rays to a 6-0...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer, Anthony Rizzo also connected and Jon Lester worked out of a pair of jams to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.
Zobrist's third-inning homer put...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Salvador Perez cursed himself. The catcher was charged for a passed ball that resulted in an Oakland run.
"I don't know what happened, I just missed the ball," Perez said after the Kansas City Royals lost to the Oakland Athletics...

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:
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Los Angeles Dodgers
2015: 92-70, first place, lost to New York Mets in Division Series.
Manager: Dave Roberts (first season).
He's Here: LHP Scott Kazmir, RHP Kenta Maeda,...

A team-by-team look at the National League West entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:
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Los Angeles Dodgers
Manager: Dave Roberts...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — As Sean Doolittle scoured the room and chatted up some of his new teammates, Oakland's bearded closer couldn't help but envision the potential of an experienced, new-look bullpen for the Athletics going into 2016.
From offseason...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The National League champion New York Mets filled a key spot by obtaining second baseman Neil Walker from Pittsburgh for pitcher Jon Niese, and the Detroit Tigers bolstered their bullpen by acquiring reliever Justin Wilson from the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Cain needed this kind of outing. The former Giants ace has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness since throwing his perfect game more than three years ago.
Cain started for the first time in six weeks and pitched two-hit...

DENVER (AP) — The hat that Chad Bettis wore after the game was certainly fitting — a picture of a menacing bear.
He was bearing down all night; had to in order to escape all the trouble he was in.
Bettis dodged jam after jam over five solid innings,...

TORONTO (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion homered for the fourth time in two days, Josh Donaldson also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the struggling Detroit Tigers 9-2 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar each hit...